Private Sector Involvement in Road Financing

Achieving private sector involvement in financing, provision and management of roads requires specialized legal and institutional frameworks, public sector expertise, advisor support and sustained political commitment. In many African States, there is little experience of private sector involvement in the road sector but there is encouragement to promote such involvement from development partners. Increased private sector involvement in public sector procurement has been for many years an important aspect of the infrastructure investment policy of development partners, such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank. Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are one of a number of initiatives being pursued within Africa, in relation to road sector reforms. In particular, the road sector reforms under the Road Management Initiative (RMI), launched in 1988 by the SSATP and the World Bank, in collaboration with other development partners have sought to improve road service delivery by reforming public sector institutions and legislation through clearly defined responsibility, ownership, stable financing and commercialized road management. Section two of this paper provides the general requirements for private sector involvement in road financing, provision and management, including contractual and procurement issues. Section 3 introduces the three case study projects. Sections four, five, and six provide the findings of the case studies undertaken in Dakar, Accra and Lagos respectively. Section seven summarizes the conclusions of key issues and policy guidance from the case study analysis.